As the largest rowing conference on the west coast, the conference will offer coaching development for all levels of coaches and will include tracks and electives for youth, club and college coaches.

The theme of this year’s conference is Innovative Leadership. In sport, leadership is about having a depth of knowledge but also having the tools to share that knowledge with athletes and staff. The sessions will provide attendees with theory and research from experts but also support the development of practical application of coaching and leadership skills. Innovation stems from being well-grounded in the fundamentals of sport while being willing to take risks and chart new directions. The late Emil Kossev was a highly innovative leader in rowing, and this year’s conference hopes to spark the imagination of a new generation of athletic leaders.

Topics will include youth development in sport, biomechanics, performance psychology, and physiology with round table discussions on sustainable programming, fundraising, and organizational development.

Carlos Dinares has been rowing since age 13. As a Spanish national team member, he competed in three World Championships and won medals in team boats at the 1997 Luzern World Cup and Mediterranean Games. After a devastating motorcycle accident in 1992, Carlos fought for four years to get back in shape despite his doctors’ advice to give up rowing because of his missing spleen. He was finally selected to the team again in 1996 and 1997. After a 10-year hiatus, he placed second in the lightweight single at the 2007 Head of the Charles.

Before coming to the U.S., Mr. Dinares managed the Catalan Rowing Federation for eight years and organized the 2004 World Rowing Championships in Banyoles as the Executive Director. He has a BS in Sports Science and an MBA from the University of Catalonia. He has been coaching at the University of Washington for seven years and in the past three years has coached elite lightweight athletes to international success, including coaching Ursula Grobler to a world record on the Concept2 and the LW2x to Gold at the World Cup in Bled in 2010 and the LW4x to Silver at the 2010 World Championships.

Today he runs the Lake Samish Training center where he organizes camps for High Schools, Colleges, and Masters of all ages. He also helped develop the Rowperfect3 dynamic ergometer.